


Brightly, Enthusiastically, Giddily

by lincyclopedia



Series: OMGCP Friendship Week [4]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26538262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lincyclopedia/pseuds/lincyclopedia
Summary: Jack hasn't loved like this before, and he's not sure if it's platonic or romantic. Spoiler alert: it's platonic. Written for OMGCP Friendship Week. Today's prompt is "late night conversations."
Relationships: Shitty Knight & Jack Zimmermann
Series: OMGCP Friendship Week [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924087
Comments: 10
Kudos: 64





	Brightly, Enthusiastically, Giddily

Jack and Shitty talk about it, is the thing. It takes Jack an incredible amount of courage and willpower, but he manages, during the first semester of his sophomore year when his feelings are big and unwieldy and dizzying, to bring it up. He’s awkward about it, of course. It’s fall break, meaning it’s one of the few times he and Shitty aren’t in the same geographic location (a precaution in case it goes badly), and Jack is Skyping Shitty and reading him the list of classes he wants to register for when registration opens for next semester, now that he’s declared a major in history, and when he finishes with the list and they’ve discussed it, Jack says, “So, I’ve got another note on my phone I wanted to discuss with you, too.” 

“Yeah?” replies Shitty. “What’s up, bro?”

Jack opens the note and stares at it rather than looking at the image of Shitty on his screen. “So, I’ve been getting kind of a non-platonic vibe between us. And I think I like that? And I know I’m not great at reading people and I could be totally wrong about this, but my therapist suggested that I try talking to you about it.”

Shitty’s frowning a little, but Jack doesn’t think it’s his angry frown. “What’s giving you the non-platonic vibe?”

“Well,” says Jack. “I mean, you touch me way more than you touch anyone else on the team. And it doesn’t make me uncomfortable—I like it—but it doesn’t feel . . . bro-y. And you reminisce about the time I picked you up from that kegster and you tried to kiss me and how we came out to each other as bi for real the next morning. Which was . . . not the most platonic moment in our friendship. And lately you’ve been talking about qualities you think that the person I wind up with should have, and a lot of them are, you know, qualities _you_ have.” 

Shitty runs a hand down his face. “Fuck.”

“Shitty?” Jack says uncertainly.

Shitty’s frown has definitely deepened. “I’ve been leading you on, haven’t I? I mean, not on purpose, but . . .”

“Oh,” says Jack. 

“I’m really sorry, brah,” says Shitty. 

“It’s okay,” says Jack. 

“No it’s not,” says Shitty. “I had a really tight group of friends before Samwell, and I got used to kind of riding that line between platonic and romantic in high school, and I didn’t think about how that would feel for someone who wasn’t used to that. I’m sorry.”

“Shitty, it’s fine,” says Jack. “I’m not in love with you. I promise. I thought you liked me and I was interested in, like, exploring that with you, but like I said at the beginning, I _think_ I like the idea of dating you. I wasn’t totally sure, even when I thought you were into me. It’s okay.” 

“Okay. Good. That’s good,” says Shitty. “Do you want me to back off with the cuddling?”

“No!” says Jack, maybe too loudly. “I like cuddling with you!”

“And it’s not going to be a problem?” Shitty asks. 

“It’s not going to be a problem,” Jack confirms. 

And it isn’t, as such. Within a week, Jack is pretty sure Shitty made the right call, keeping their relationship platonic. Hockey intensifies quickly after fall break, and Jack needs to pay attention to his game and his classes. Squeezing in a relationship probably wouldn’t go well. And then there’s the matter of how different he and Shitty are—he knows they love each other, but it’s nice to just try not to think about what Shitty’s doing at each kegster, which Jack imagines would be harder if they were an item. And then there’s the fact that Jack isn’t out and doesn’t want to be. (Shitty isn’t out either, really, but he has relatively fewer reasons to keep secrets than Jack does.) A secret relationship would probably be really rough. 

So Jack isn’t pining and he doesn’t want a relationship. Which should really be the end of the matter. But Shitty comes to Jack’s room and sprawls out on the bed in his boxers on a regular basis, and it’s a kind of casual intimacy that Jack’s never had with anyone else, not even Kenny. And Shitty tells Jack he loves him, which no one outside his family has ever said to him before. It’s become normal on roadies for Jack and Shitty to sit together and talk until their voices damn near give out. It’s like time doesn’t exist when Shitty’s around. All of which makes Jack wonder if he’s somehow in love and in denial about it (even though he’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to make out with Shitty), or if all his previous friendships have just been comparatively shitty (ha) and he doesn’t know how to deal with having a best friend.

But Shitty’s turned him down once, and he’s turned Shitty down once (the morning they came out to each other), so Jack figures there’s no point in trying again. Either they’ll realize they’re perfect for each other years from now and it will have all been a long and slow falling-in-love process, or they’ll be best friends and someday Jack will be more sure of his feelings. 

It takes until Jack’s senior year for him to be sure that what he feels for Shitty is just friendship. Baking with Bittle in the Haus kitchen does something to Jack’s insides that Shitty has never done, and Jack has urges—to caress, to kiss, to fuck—that he’s never had with Shitty. 

So Shitty’s his best friend. The best friend ever, in fact. And Jack loves him brightly, enthusiastically, giddily—and platonically. And it’s good.


End file.
